SECONDARY NEWS 

From the Assistant Principal 

Week 10

The Secondary is relatively quiet for most of this week as many students are involved in out of school activities.

Year 10 are completing their first Work Experience session for 2017. Most of the students are placed locally and we thank the business community for their support in providing work placements.

Both Year 9 and Year 8 students are on excursions in Sydney and Tea Gardens respectively.

Tomorrow Year 6 students have a day in the Secondary. They will have their lessons in Secondary classrooms and will have a mix of regular lessons and some specialist classes. We will provide experiences in PDHPE, Science, Music and Drama We will also welcome new students who are joining us in 2018. The transition process will continue next term.

Term 4:  Elective Information Evening

Year 8 and Year 9 students have received an information handbook, which is a guide to the elective courses of study available to Year 9 and Year 10 in 2018.

On Tuesday 10 October (Week 1, Term 4) an Elective Information evening will be held in the Library at 7.00pm. Parents and students will have the opportunity to meet with staff to discuss the various elective study options for students in 2018.

We look forward to meeting as many parents as possible next term. If you are unable to attend and require some assistance please contact Miss Bailey at school.

Summer Uniform

With the arrival of Spring students are able to wear their summer uniform. We remind students to wear either summer or winter uniform, not a mixture of both. It is also advisable to check the forecast as early Spring weather is often a time with great temperature fluctuations. The lost property bin in the Secondary staffroom has a number of jackets and other items of clothing. Please check in the coming days as at the end of term all items will be taken to St Vincent de Paul.

Uniform Reminders - Hair

There have been some issues with uniform compliance lately, especially with regard to hairstyles. Mrs Rainger spoke with the Secondary Department on Friday and reminded the students of our uniform policy and expectations relating to hairstyles.

An extract from the policy regarding hair and the consequences of breaching the school rules regarding this can be found below.

Hair

For safety and possible health reasons, hair, which is long enough to be tied back, should be worn in this manner. Haircuts must be neat at all times. Only natural tones are permissible for hair colourings.

Students with unacceptable or radical cuts/ styles which are not in keeping with the school image may be asked to work from home until the cut has grown etc. or the hair is cut or the colour removed. Students may have Number 2 blades and above, though any shorter is unacceptable.

Hair accessories (ribbons, scrunchies, headbands, etc.) should be in school colours of blue and/or white and are purchased from the uniform shop.

Consequences for Non Compliance with School Uniform Requirements

Uniform is checked regularly by class teachers. Students who consistently do not comply with school uniform requirements may be placed on a disciplinary process which may lead to them being prevented from participating in the following activities:

• Attendance at School Socials
• Participation in Representative Sports an Extra-Curricula Activities
• Student Representative Council
• Other activities as determined by the School Executive

Inverell's Got Talent

Entry forms are available at the office or on the Inverell East Rotary website.

The talent night is Friday 27 October and there will be two sections Junior (school Years 5 to 8) and Senior.

Nominations close Friday 13th October.

Learning Collaboratively

We are all different in the way we prefer to learn. Some students like to work in groups, and

others prefer to work alone. Some students like to discuss things over Skype or Messenger and some like to work together in person. There is a reason why we have the saying ‘two heads are better than one’, so let’s see how this applies to different types of students.

If you think you always prefer to work alone:

• It is great that you are very self-sufficient. Students who prefer to work alone are often confident in their own abilities. However, sometimes these students make it more difficult for themselves by not asking for help when they need it. So if you are this type of student, don’t struggle on alone when you get into difficulties or don’t understand something. Being able to ask for help when you need it is an important skill for academic success. Just become more aware that you don’t always ask for help and instead try reaching out a little more when you need help.
• The other area to consider is that when you talk about things with other people it can often help you to see things from a different perspective. By discussing ideas with another person, you also may find you clarify your own thoughts. By not being open to collaboration, you might not develop your ideas as well as you could or you might not see potential issues that a fresh pair of eyes and ears might discover. If you haven’t done much collaboration, give it a try and you might find yourself surprised at how valuable you find the experience.

If you already love working with other people:

• Make sure that you always contribute equally and don’t expect other people to do all the work for you.
• Collaboration doesn’t mean cheating. For example, it is ok to discuss an assignment and what you think it is about and how you might approach it, but it is not ok to write the assignment together and hand in similar pieces of work.
• Collaboration also doesn’t mean wasting time. If you are working with other people make sure you are staying on task and not getting distracted.
• Every now and then you have to do things on your own. If you always do your Maths homework with your friends, you might not really know what you can and can’t do on your own. The first time you find this out could be a test which could be a big issue. Always ask yourself if the work you are doing is going to be enhanced by collaboration or if it is more appropriate to try the work on your own.
• It is important each night to have a certain amount of homework time on your own. If you want to collaborate when you are working at home, make specific times to do this. Don’t Skype the entire night with your friends. Instead, have set times for collaboration and set times for independent work.